Nothing Easy

We have all heard proverbs or maxims along the lines of “Nothing easy is worth having”. While I know some people who would strongly content that point, I am slowly coming to realise it to be true.

My stated goal for the following two years was to grow in all aspects of my life. I am fed up with the stagnation of the past four years. Indeed, if it had been only stagnation I would have been able to pick up where I left off. But despite the vast treasure trove of learned knowledge I have gained over the course of my tertiary studies, in other areas I have regressed. It would seem that the journey of life is not one over flat, firm ground, but rather a trek up a slippery slope: unless you labour to move forward, you will slip down.

I recently watched Long Way Round, which documents Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman's “round the world” trip from London to New York on their motorcycles. It was very inspiring and I am looking forward to seeing Long Way Down. One certainly feels inspired to do something epic when watching that. While I shall conveniently leave that “something epic” as a treat for later in my life (Deo Volente), I find myself reminded of what the late Sir Edmund Hillary said: “Everyone should have an Everest”. Planning on having a glorified mid-life crises does not qualify. Rather, everyone should have a clear goal to work for. For four years, I believed my goal was to acquire an university degree. I do not regret studying. It also wasn't easy (although I probably, at times, made it more difficult and ardious for myself than it needed to be), but it did not feel like an Everest. I won't talk down on graduating and many times the task at hand did feel like a behemoth, but perhaps the goal I was aiming for was a little one-dimensional. Throughout the entire time I realised and acknowledged that I was neglecting important things in my life. Now, with a new chapter in my life beginning, I am amped to start righting some wrongs.

But what am I doing? I'm writing about it. Nearly two months of this year has dropped from the calendar, meaning a sixth of the time has been spent. I have not improved on my situation. Excuses are galore. Indeed, I probably now have more valid excuses than before (my two jobs keep me quite busy during the day - I have not yet factored in the studies properly). But I cannot allow myself to be bogged down any further. The challenges are more and the short-term goals are less than glorious (I find myself in a position where I need to stop some bleeding before moving on to bigger things – more on this later), but achieving them will be no less significant. Each achieved goal is a stepping stone to something bigger. I am not an overly patient person, but patience is indeed a rare and precious quality in the modern world. Perhaps, learning to do things in steps will teach me patience as a side-benefit.